The Accordion Spacing feature varies stitch spacing between dense and open fill, producing gradient and shading effects which are difficult to achieve manually. It provides a simple way to produce variation in a filled pattern and the illusion of depth. It is best used with tatami fill. When applied, current settings – including Auto Spacing and Fractional Spacing – are ignored. However, other settings still apply, including stitch angle.
1Click the Accordion Spacing icon. The effect is applied to new or selected objects, based on the current Accordion Spacing settings.
Tip: Because of the open stitch, Accordion Spacing is best used without Auto Underlay.
2Right-click the Accordion Spacing icon to access object properties.
3In the Profile panel, select a spacing effect.
4In the Spacing panel, adjust spacing values:
3Use the Reshape tool to adjust the angle of the gradient fill.
3Apply Trapunto effect to force underlying travel runs to the edges of an object so that they can’t be seen through open stitching. It’s also a good idea to turn off Auto Underlay.
